A Christmas Surprise
by MSquared79
Summary: Todd's family receives a Christmas present none of them expected. Completely independent of anything I have or am currently writing.


Christmas Eve

The delivery man stood on the other side of the front door to Llanfair, nodding to Viki as he said, "Package for Victoria Lord."

Viki smiled as she signed the invoice. The man put down the clipboard and turned around to lift the large box. He brought it into the foyer and left, wishing Viki a happy holiday. After she closed the door, Viki turned and eyed what had been dropped there. The box was almost as high as the table it was in front of. As she examined the box, she noticed the card with the address was actually a letter envelope. She removed the envelope and opened the letter.

_Dear Sis,_

_I decided it was safer to have this delivered to Llanfair, as I don't trust the head witch to not have it tossed into the trash if she's the one to sign for it. I also have one request: Have Blair and the kids over after Christmas Eve services. Give them the gifts then._

_Love, Your Brotther_

_PS…there's a few things in there for you, Jessica and her kids and the redhead and her son. _

As Viki was opening the box and bringing the carefully wrapped packages to the tree in the library, Jessica, Natalie and the kids trooped in. "Well, how was shopping?" she asked her daughters as the children hurried into the kitchen for fresh baked cookies.

"Is it just me or have the stores gotten crazier this year?" Jessica asked. "I don't remember Logan's being that crowded last year."

"Well, I see Mom was smart," Natalie commented. She pointed to the box in the other room. "Although I've never known you to shop online. Are we entering the twenty-first century at last?"

"That wasn't anything I purchased. It was a box full of gifts, from Ebenezer Manning," Viki joked.

"Uncle Todd sent gifts here?" Jessica asked, surprise brightening her face.

"Yes, and there are a number of gifts for Bree, Ryder and Liam, as well as for the both of you," Viki said as she stepped aside for her daughters to see. "But the majority of them are for Starr, Jack and Sam."

"Is mine ticking?" Natalie commented in a drool voice. When Viki gave her an exasperated look, her daughter ignored it and asked, "Why did he send their gifts here?"

"Well, he was concerned that they won't get to them…that Dorian would throw them out," she explained. "Which I wouldn't put past her." Her task complete, Viki went to go get her purse. "I'm going to head over to La Boulaie. Todd also asked me to invite them over after the service at St. James' so they can get them. I'll see you in a bit."

The doorbell rang at La Boulaie. Blair hurried down the stairs, a pit forming in her stomach. The last few months had been more nerve wracking than normal. Every time the phone rang or the doorbell sounded, she was fearful that the authorities were on the other end, telling her something had happened to Todd. She paused before opening the door, steeling herself for the terrible news.

A smile burst onto her face when she saw what was on the other side. "Starr!" she cried, wrapping her arms around her first born.

"Mom," Starr shouted as she returned her mother's fierce hug.

When they broke apart, Blair held her at arm's length. "What…where…How did you?" A million questions ran through Blair's head.

Starr could see the confusion on her mother's face. "Dad. His pilot showed up at my apartment saying he wanted me to come home for Christmas. I guess he wanted it to be a surprise," she explained.

Through tears, Blair replied, "Well, it worked."

"So, where is he?" her daughter asked. "I want to thank him."

Before Blair could answer, Sam called from the top of the stairs "Starr! You're home!" He ran down to his sister and clamped himself to her leg.

"Hey, Sam. Oh, I missed you so much!" Starr fussed over him as Jack came down the stair. When Starr looked up at him, his face was a mix of happiness and smugness. "Jack, I missed you," she said as she gave him a hug.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, well, not half as much, I'm sure, as Scarface missed you," Jack said. "But at least you're here to help Mom pick up the pieces now that he's gone again."

Starr's eyes went wide and she turned back to Blair. "Mom, Dad's gone?"

Blair let out a sigh. "You're Daddy's on a business trip," she explained.

"That's been going on for months. Mom, face it, he's not coming back. Move on with your life already," Jack threw back as he headed to the kitchen.

Sam looked to Starr then his mother. "Uncle Todd will come back. He promised me! Jack's just being mean." With that, he scampered off.

Starr turned towards where her brothers had disappeared to and took her mother's hand. "Tell me what happened."

As before, another interruption stopped the conversation. Blair was surprised, though, to find Viki there. "Viki hello. How are you doing?" she asked quickly.

"Hello Blair and, is that Starr?" Viki asked. Blair smiled and stepped aside as Viki came in and embraced her niece. "Well, this is a lovely surprise to have you home!"

Starr nodded smilingly. "Dad sent the jet to LA to pick me up. He thought I should come home for the holidays…or so his pilot told me."

"Then, you didn't speak to your father?" Viki asked, a note of concern in her voice.

"No. In fact, just as you rang the bell, Mom was going to tell me what's going on with Dad," Starr said as she looked to her mother.

Viki could tell that a serious talk was about to occur between mother and daughter and felt out of place being there for it. She decided to make it brief. "Well, as it just so happens, I got a package from Todd today…a large one filled with Christmas presents." She turned to Blair. "He felt it was safer sending it to Llanfair, according to his note. But he also asked me to invite you all over after Christmas Eve services to give them to you." Viki could see the emotions playing out on Blair's face. She knew in her heart how much the younger woman loved her brother and she could see there was pain there in this latest separation. "Please say you'll come."

Blair tried to rein herself in. "Yes, of course we'll come. We'll see you later then." Viki nodded and as she walked out the front door, touched Blair's shoulder in a comforting manner. Blair turned to her and offered her an appreciative smile.

When Viki left, Starr took her mother's hands again. "Tell me what's happened."

Blair was waging an internal struggle to tell her daughter the truth about what had happed over the summer, from the notes threatening Todd and his family to the heartbreaking goodbye they had to endure. At last, she broke down and told her daughter everything. Starr was shocked by all that had happened. She berated herself for staying away while her family had been under siege. And she had missed that she had gotten back something she had never thought would happened again. As Blair began to calm down, Starr thought it a good idea to inject a little levity. "Well, Dad was right. He was going to get you back eventually."

Blair nodded. "Yes, he did. But it has to stay our secret. At least, the marriage. Jack kind of barged in on us, but no one else knows we…"

Starr's eyes went wide. "Really? And how traumatized was he?" she asked with a wink.

"He didn't catch us in the act! Just, he barged into your Dad's room and I came out of the bedroom putting on a jacket. It was no more than that morning you woke up to your father in our room at the Palace," Blair chided.

"Yes, I remember that morning. And I know what you did the night before," she said with glee.

Blair blushed but she was well aware at how unusually comfortable her daughter was with the idea of her parents together. "Look, missy, I think you need to get yourself together for church, especially since I need to ride herd on your brothers. I want to lay down the law with Jack, after that crack he just made."

As Blair went to look for her sons, Starr looked at the Christmas tree, where it had always been, in front of the French doors. She looked to the star at the top of the tree, the inspiration for her name that her mother always told her was a gift from her father. She sent up a silent thank you to wherever he was and a prayer that he was safe.

It was unsurprising that, come six o'clock in Llanview, the good citizens headed to their various houses of worship for services. It was terribly predictable. But, it gave one man the opportunity he needed. As he saw the car head off to St. James' carrying Viki, Jessica, Brody and their kids, Todd Manning headed around the back and discovered, happily, that the doors into the library were, as usual, unlocked. "Seriously, with the number of whackjobs in this town, you'd think my sister would have the good sense to make sure these are all secure," he muttered to himself as he slipped in.

He looked around the room and found it as nauseatingly cheery as he'd expected. Then he looked down and saw the abundance of gifts there, noting that the ones he had sent were there. He stepped over them as he shed his coat to go to the wet bar. Unfortunately, his stealth skills had diminished and he tripped. He didn't think it was that loud until the door to the library opened and Lois, Viki's long-time housekeeper, nearly screamed.

"SHHHHH!" he said, praying there was no one else in the house.

When Lois gathered her wits back, she narrowed her eyes. "Mr. Manning? What are you doing here? And why did you think to sneak in the back?"

"I'm a Christmas surprise?" he answered weakly, shrugging his shoulders. "Is there anyone else here?"

Lois shook her head. "Ms. Lord, Lt. and Mrs. Lovett and their children are all out to church."

"Mrs. Lovett? Jessica married him?" Todd snarked. "How did the redhead take it?" As Todd continued to get a disapproving look, he held up his hands. "Sorry. Is the redhead going to be coming back here later?"

"Yes," Lois said. "Mrs. Banks and Liam will be returning with the family."

Todd shook his head. "Good. Great. Look, don't tell anyone I'm here. I'm going to close the doors so leave them closed. Christmas surprise and all," he told her as he hurried her out of the room and did as he said. Now, all he had to do was wait.

As the congregation of St. James' filed out of the church, Viki signaled and caught Blair's attention. "Are we all together?" she asked around to her family. After the various affirmative answers were registered, Viki caught sight of Tea. "Maybe we should ask if she'd like to join us," Viki asked Blair.

"I'll go over and see," she replied as she walked over to her sister-in-law. "Hey," Blair whispered to the lawyer as Tea turned around. "Viki wanted to know if you wanted to come over to Llanfair. She's having us there."

Tea looked back to see Viki's smiling countenance but shook her head glumly. "No, I have work I need to get done."

"Tea, it's Christmas Eve," Blair pleaded to her.

"And it's a good time for me to get ahead," Tea countered. Then she saw the look on Blair's face. "It's been a rough year and all I want to do is have a long winter's rest. Please?" When Blair nodded, Tea turned to leave. "_Feliz Navidad_," she said.

Blair walked back to the collected Lord/Buchanan/Mannings. "She said she had a lot of work to do," was the lame response. As the kids filed out to the cars, she let out a sigh. "It's been really rough on her. Victor was around for such a short time and now he seems to have vanished off the face of the earth…I can understand not wanting to deal with family. And she's been going through so many rough spots with Dani and her boyfriend." Blair turned back to where Tea had walked off to. "I'll check back with her the day after Christmas."

Viki smiled at Blair. "I think I will too." As she noticed Jessica signaling to her, she said, "Let's get everyone back to Llanfair. I know Ryder and Liam were eying up the packages before we left."

Lois saw the headlight as the cars made their way up the long driveway. She popped her head into the library. "The family seems to be home. Do you need me to do anything?"

Todd had to smile. The last thing he had expected was any conspiring from Viki's help. "Just, make sure they all have their coats off, stuff like that. And keep the doors closed." As Lois left, she nodded yes to him.

A minute later, the front doors opened and Ms. Lord stepped in with both of her daughters, their three children, Miss Jessica's husband and Ms. Cramer and her three children. As she took their coats, she could hear Mr. Manning's son, Jack, already grousing about being there. "Why can't we just go back to La Boulaie?"

"Because, Jack, we're family and family spends the holidays together," Viki said.

"Besides, without Aunt Dorian there this year, it's just the four of us. Isn't it better to be in a full house?" Starr asked him, but just getting a petulant look as an answer.

"Where is Dorian?" Natalie asked as she handed Liam's coat to Lois.

"Carl Peterson invited her to Washington for the holiday. She protested a bit but then David walked by and made a comment, so of course, she had to show him up," Blair explained.

"Maybe I should call him and see if he wants to join us tonight," Viki questioned. But after letting it hang, she turned to the family, her back to the double doors. "Now, I have it on good authority," she began to Liam, Ryder, Bree and Sam, "that Santa's making some early stops and one of them was here! Shall we go see what he left?" As the children cheered delightfully, Viki threw open the door.

The cheering stopped so suddenly, you could hear a pin drop on the tiled foyer floor.

In Todd's mind, it all went the way he pictured it. There was his family, some unwanted, but just about everyone who was important to him, standing there in stunned silence. His eyes wandered from Viki and Jessica to Starr and the boys. Lastly, they fell on Blair. No one could speak from the other side of the room, so he decided to break the ice. "Merry Christmas," he declared through the lump forming in his throat.

"Todd?" Viki asked as she walked up to him.

Usually totally reluctant to even accept a hug, he opened his arms and Viki fell into them. "Hey sis," he said as he rubbed her back. He kissed her cheek, stepping back to ask, "Did you miss me?"

With a teary smile, she answered, "Of course I did." She then stepped aside, knowing there were others there who Todd was desperate to see.

He walked up to Jessica. "So, Mrs. Lovett?" he asked his golden-haired niece. "When did that happen?"

"A few months back. Just a small wedding at a registry office in London with Cord, Tina and my brothers," Jessica replied. "And our children, of course." She touched Bree on the shoulder as Brody picked up Ryder.

He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Well, if anything goes bad, come and see me. I have my methods of disposing of unworthy suitors of my nieces." As he said that, his eyes flickered to Natalie. "Merry Christmas to you," he said blandly. "And I'm not going to apologize for sending that picture. He was way too close to that woman before that and I doubted that he'd have ever told you." That said, he moved on to his children.

With his uncle standing in front of him, Sam turned to Jack. "See, I told you he'd be back!" Then, to Todd, "Jack didn't believe that you'd come back. But I told Santa I wanted you to come home. I asked Santa that last year but I knew he wouldn't disappoint me two years in a row."

"No, Sam, he wouldn't, but it wasn't Santa's fault last year. And I'm sorry. It was all on me," Todd said as he hugged the little guy.

"You're here now, so it's all good!" his nephew replied.

Todd stood up and looked and Starr and Jack. Then, he grabbed the both of them together in one hug. Starr, knowing him and her brother well, clamped her arm around Jack to keep him in the embrace. It shocked both Todd and Starr when Jack didn't even struggle to get out of it. "Oh you don't know how much I missed you," he said breathlessly to them both as they clumped together. Todd stood back, his hand on the back of Jack's neck. "You keeping an eye on your mother and brother for me?"

"It's what I always do," Jack said simply. But Jack couldn't hide the emotions he was feeling, seeing Todd. He realized just then he'd never seen the rush of pride from Victor that was so plain on Todd's face at that moment.

Todd nodded and turned to Starr. "I see you got your message. You really have been in LA too long. That place fries your brain. Trust me, I know, Shorty."

Starr's eyes narrowed, her voice pitched in annoyance. "How did you…you've been spying on me?"

"I like to think of it as keeping an eye on my little girl. You're a lot like me, you can get into trouble all on your own," he said.

A smile broke across her mouth. "Thank you."

Nodding grimly, he turned his attention to Blair. He stepped away from the children and held her gaze for a whole minute. A thousand thought raced through his mind and then coalesced into one idea, one thing he needed more than anything else. He grabbed her and kissed her, months of passion overflowing from him. He was not surprised that she met him with an equal vigor and they forgot themselves or where they were. It was only a happy squeak from Bree (or was it from Starr?) that brought them out of their rapture. They broke apart and, in what he thought was a whisper, he said, "Mrs. Manning."

Momentary confused played across her face and she noted the surprise on the faces of various members of Todd's family. But she was emboldened by him calling her that and she returned it, saying "Mr. Manning."

Todd eyes slid towards Starr and Jack. His daughter wore a smug expression, almost a mirror of his own. His son was unreadable but when he seemed to notice the pride on Blair's face, he acquiesced, wearing a cheeky grin. "Just make sure I don't catch you again," Jack said.

"Why? That's half the fun," Starr retorted.

"Ewww, you mean you've…?" Jack didn't even finish that question.

Starr's grin broadened. "You don't want to know when I caught them."

As much as Todd enjoyed the sibling teasing, he shook his head at Starr. "It's better to leave those bombs to be dropped when you need them," he gently scolded. Then he turned to the rest of the gathered Lords. Looking to Viki, he said, "I know you have to put you're two cents into this. Go ahead. Say whatever it is you want to say."

Viki walked up to Todd and took his hand and Blair's. "I am so happy that you both found your way back to each other. It's been a long time coming." When Todd's eyebrows shot up his forehead, Viki looked insulted. "You told me over two years ago, you wanted everything back that you had lost…the paper, your money, your children, but especially Blair. It took you a long time, but you got it all back."

Todd was about to comment but Blair stopped him. "Let's just enjoy Christmas as a family." She drew him into another kiss. Todd forgot what he was about to say.

The hours sped by and Todd was surprised how much he was enjoying himself in the bosom of his family. He hadn't made a snarky comment about anything, even when Natalie cautiously opened her present, a sapphire and diamond bracelet that matched the one Todd gave Jessica. The youngest kids, Sam included, went into the sun room to play with all the neat toys Todd had bought for them. As the clock stuck midnight, Todd looked at Blair. "I need to get something out of my car. Can you help me?"

Blair noted his expression but quietly left with him. Once they were outside, she looked sad, knowing what was going to happen. "You have to leave, don't you?"

Todd nodded. "It's amazing I've even been able to keep secrets from you. You know me better than I know myself." He rested his forehead against hers, will the tears to stop. "This…this was a respite. I shouldn't even be here, I may have put all of you in danger."

"Todd, this was the greatest present I could ever receive…seeing you, knowing you're safe. I couldn't have asked for anything else," she said as the tears began to fall.

"Gift giving at the holidays was always your forte," he said with a smirk.

"You have topped anything I could have ever given," she replied as she place a soft kiss on his lips. As the tears fell harder, she had to ask, "When will I see you again?"

The ever present lump that had been nestled in Todd's throat since the door to the Lord Library opened made its presence known again. "I don't know. I'm trying Blair, I'm really trying. They have me jumping through fifty thousand hoops and I don't feel any closer to finding Victor." He looked to Blair. "How's Tea holding up?" There was an actual measure of concern in his voice.

"She's not handling any of this. She's trying, she knows Victor loves her, but there is so much unknown for her…" Blair couldn't finish her sentence.

Todd merely nodded. He went to the driver's side door and reach across to grab his briefcase. Opening it, he took out a small box. "I'm surprised you never noticed there wasn't anything under the tree for you."

A smirk crossed her face. "I thought you were my present."

"Just one measly gift, for you? Never!" He handed her the box and when she opened it, saw a five carat, marquise cut ring. "Oh, Todd," she whispered.

"I understand that there's danger if you wear it. It will be taken for what it's meant as. You can hold off until…until I come home," he managed to get out.

She took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger. "I will wear it, with pride." They kissed again and Blair wanted to hold on, hold on and not let him go. But at last she did and he slipped into the car. As he he started it, he said, "Tell the kids…tell them I love them."

"You know I will," she replied.

He was about to pull the car out when he said, "Tell Viki everything. She should know. Her family is in danger too. But wait until after Christmas. I love you."

"And I love you!" she cried as the car rolled down the street. As it disappeared into the night, she walked over to a tree and collapsed against it. She didn't want to go back into Llanfair in this state. It took her a few minutes but she made her way back to the house.

As she approached the front door, it opened and Viki came out. She looked around and seeing Blair alone, surmised what had happened. "He's gone, isn't he?" Blair could only nod an answer. "Can you tell me what is going on?"

Blair took a deep breath. "Can I tell you after the holidays?" Viki offered an incredulous look, but Blair pleaded, "I promise, I will tell you everything."

Viki agreed. As they walked into the house, the light from the chandelier caught the diamond on Blair's finger. She thought about what she could say. "Blair, I know that you and I have had issues over the years. Please understand, I have never doubted Todd's love for you or yours for him. If you need me, I will be there for you." Then, her eyes dropped to the ring. "And I suspect, when someone we both knows see that, you may need me."

Blair offered a pained look. As beautiful as the ring was, she knew the reaction it would draw from Dorian. "Well, going to have to deal with it. And now that Todd got called back for an emergency meeting, I may just take you up on that, when the time comes."

Viki caught the subtle hint her sister-in-law was sending. "Well, then, I guess we should tell the children. But it was a lovely time, while we had it."

Blair nodded. "It's something we'll hold in our hearts until he comes home for good."


End file.
